Mio Momono vs Mayumi Ozaki, Battle Big Bonus (28/4/24), Oz Academy

She did get to kick her in the head a bit. Credit: Here

I can’t remember the last match to leave me as unsure of my feelings as this one. 

On a basic level, I hated it. I hated it because it wasn’t supposed to end like this. Over eight months after Mio Momono lost the AAAW Title to Mayumi Ozaki, she walked into enemy territory, carrying Oz’s belt on her shoulder, aiming to bring it home. I woke up early on Sunday morning with butterflies fluttering in my stomach, excited to watch it live because that was what I wanted to see. My hero, the wrestler I will argue till I’m blue in the face is the best in the world, was going to right the wrong of that night and reclaim what was rightfully hers. 

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Marvelous (12/4/24) Review

The champs are getting ready for Korakuen. Credit: Here

With the AAAW Tag League behind us, Marvelous’s eyes now move to Korakuen as they start building towards their trip to that famous old venue with a visit to Shinkiba. So far, we only know about the tag title match, and the main event of this show saw Unagi and Itsuki try to gatecrash it. Would they succeed? Let’s find out.

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Marvelous (8/3/24) Review

Mio had a good time. Credit: Here

The build for this show wasn’t exactly ideal. First, Marvelous forgot to include Itsuki Aoki on the card, forcing them to sheepishly add her to one of the already-announced matches. Then, on the day, ZONES and Ai Houzan dropped out with injuries, so they had to cancel the two AAAW Tag League showdowns that were supposed to headline this thing and replace them with an all-star main event. It’s hardly ideal circumstances, but the show must go on, and often, these thrown-together cards are a lot of fun, so let’s see what went down.

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Marvelous (2/2/24) Review

It’s been one of those weeks where my rambling about a random Shinkiba show feels utterly pointless. The death of Asahi is unfair and horrible and something that I still don’t think I’ve entirely processed. Hopefully, somewhere down the line, I’ll feel up to writing about her short but brilliant career. That’s not today, though. However, it would have felt weird to publish this (which I wrote before we learnt about it) without at least mentioning it and sending all my love to those who knew her better than me. Considering the impact she had on those who only knew her through a screen or from a quick chat at a show, I can only imagine the one she had on those who knew her well was something special.

Credit: Marvelous

After spending January on the road, Marvelous kicked off February with their first trip of 2024 to Shinkiba. There will, of course, be many more in the months ahead, but it’s always good to get things started right. Let’s see what went down.

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Marvelous in Yokohama (14/1/24) Review

A chaotic main event. Credit: Here

The first Marvelous show of the year had them making the short jaunt to Yokohama. However, it’s already been a somewhat busy year for the roster, with the big news being that Mio Momono finally struck a blow against Oz Academy, defeating AKINO to win their big belt. The feud won’t be over until the AAAW title comes home, but it’s a start, and when you win a shiny new accessory in your first match of the year, you can probably leap into the rest of it feeling pretty confident. In less happy news, Takumi Iroha missed this show due to illness, so the card had to be tweaked. Hopefully, she’ll be back on her feet sooner rather than later.

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Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for December 2023

A lot of crying faces. Credit: TJPW

My December roundup is a short one, as a combination of being home for Christmas/Hogmanay and putting a lot of effort into my match-of-the-year list has limited my current wrestling watching. It means it’s only really covering the first half of the month, but there were still some big moments to talk about and a few things to celebrate, so hopefully, you’ll find something to enjoy.

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Marvelous (10/12/23) Review

Magenta’s time starts here. Credit: here

Marvelous’s final Korakuen of the year had two biggies at the top of the card. First, Mio Momono and Tomoko Watanabe battled to decide who would get the first shot at reclaiming the AAAW Title from the villainous Mayumi Ozaki. Then, Magenta challenged for the AAAW Tag Titles for the second time, as they hoped to wrest the belts from the seemingly unbeatable pairing of Takumi Iroha and Chikayo Nagashima. It was all exciting on paper, so let’s see how reality lived up to it.

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Ramblings About’s Matches of the Month for October 2023

Mio’s unusual choice of weapons. Credit: Oz Academy

It’s another quieter month for my roundup as work started to pick up over the last few weeks, and I’ve been tired. Still, quality over quantity, and I believe the seven matches listed below are all fantastic pieces of wrestling. Read on to learn more, and, as always, if there’s anything you think I should have seen, feel free to throw it in the comments. I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually!

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